Kamchatka buildings withstand strong earthquake - Ministry

Jan 30, 2016

Interfax

The quake was followed by at least 7 aftershocks

No houses and other structures have been damaged in Kamchatka after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the region, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's main directorate for Kamchatka Territory told Interfax on Jan. 30.

"Emergency teams from firefighting and rescue garrisons have examined the residential area and other socially-significant sites in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and in the Yelizovo district. No damage to buildings has been found," the spokesperson said.

It was reported that a 7 magnitude earthquake occurred at 3:25 pm. Local time (6.25 a.m. Moscow time) on Saturday. Its epicenter was on the ground, 93 kilometers north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, between the Zhupanovsky and Karymsky volcanoes, at the depth of 187 kilometers. The earthquake's energy class was 16.

Residents of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky felt tremors measuring up to six points. People ran out of their houses. Furniture in flats was shaking, walls and floors were trembling, books and dishes falling off shelves. There are no casualties.

The quake was followed by at least seven aftershocks of a lower magnitude in the same district.